LEWISTON — Lewiston High School’s class of 2025 gathered for the last time as students Friday night for graduation before sending the 337 graduates off to find a place of their own in the world. They hugged, celebrated and shared memories with each other before and after the ceremony.

Students sat on Don Roux field at the high school Friday night as the sun settled on the horizon, listening to peers, administrators and a former Lewiston graduate impart words of wisdom and good wishes.

Keynote speaker Josh Church, Lewiston High School 1996 graduate and head of development and production for Apatow Productions, charmed the crowd with quips at his own expense, including pronouncing himself the second sexiest man in Hollywood to come from Lewiston – Patrick Dempsey being the first.

It was a teacher at Lewiston High School who introduced him to writing, which is what set him on a path into film, working on movies like “Stepbrothers” and “Talladega Nights.”

He shared memories of his time at the high school and gave heartfelt advice about taking pride in where you come from – highlighting the diverse history and cultures that make up the Lewiston community.

Though it has gotten harder for some people to share their stories, he encouraged the graduates not to be silent.

“Every one of you has a story to share with the world,” he said. “And we live in a time where it’s getting harder for people to tell their stories. People are being silenced, their stories are being erased from history books, removed from libraries, rewritten by those who are afraid of the truth.

“We see firsthand in Lewiston what happens when communities are welcomed in to share their stories – that’s not happening everywhere. … The best way to fight back against those who seek to silence you is to use your voice, to keep telling your story.”

The student speeches were focused around the last 13 years leading up to graduation, the last moments shared as a class, the fear of entering the real world, and the good wishes they bestowed on their peers.

Salutatorian Melanie Deshaies boasted about the class of 2025’s academic, extracurricular and athletic achievements – alluding to them being perhaps the most accomplished class in the school’s history.

She talked about watching graduating seniors do their walk-through at the elementary schools before their graduations and how it felt taking that final walk-through themselves Wednesday.

“I, as did everyone, saw the parade of graduates for a short time, seeing not simply high school seniors in strange blue gowns but seeing ourselves” she said. “Eventually we would walk the elementary halls, and we did this Wednesday. Only, it was different. In the distance sat not our graduate future of Blue Devil Blue but our youthful past of bright color in the children who took our place. Now, we inspired others as opposed to only being inspired.”

Valedictorian Iphia Zhang talked about the fear she felt starting school and now the fear she feels as she is thrust into a world and a new chapter in life without all her peers. But as she takes a next step this August, she said she will be comforted by the fact that they are all facing the same change, though separately.

“In all my contemplation of how scary it is to grow up, I took comfort in knowing that I wasn’t being launched into the world of change alone,” she said. “It wouldn’t only be me going off to college this fall but many of you, my peers, as well. So, I’m saying that no matter what your next plans are, if any of you are even remotely nervous about the life that starts after we leave here tonight, know that we’re all doing this together. And even beyond high school and college or work, chances are someone else is fighting the same battle that you are. It’s OK to be afraid but know that you’re not on your own.”

The first-generation Mainer and cancer survivor closed out her speech by impressing on the graduates to retain the ability to find joy in the little things, to not conform to rigid expectations about how to act and to be good humans.

Class President Adryanna Viles reflected on the class of 2025 winning spirit week for three of the four years they were at the high school and bringing back homecoming during their sophomore year. She talked about how close the class is, the love her peers share for their school and how they all are feeling about reaching this milestone.

“For some of us this might be the happiest moment of our lives and for others this might be the saddest moment of our lives,” she said. “Either way, this moment is a moment being shared amongst the 300-plus graduates we have been able to see grow.”